Finding An Answer
by Phreakish
Summary: -Updated- After his first day at work as the new school doctor, Tooya runs into a girl who claims to be his sister. Tooya believes he's found the key to his past he's been searching for, but will the Mikages let him slip out of their hands? Not likely.
1. This Is My Sister?

Summary: After his first day at work as the new school doctor, Tooya runs into a girl who claims to be his sister. Tooya believes he's found the key to his past he's been searching for, but will the Mikages let him slip out of their hands? *snorts derisively* Not likely.  
  
  
  
Rating: PG - PG-13, depends on how much profanity I want to put in the dialogue o.O  
  
  
  
Timeline: Takes place after the events of volume two of the manga series. Breaks off of canon shortly before the beginning of volume three, which hasn't come out yet (in the English version).  
  
  
  
Author's Note: This is my first attempt at an Ayashi no Ceres fic. I've only read up to volume two of the manga series and haven't had the chance (or the luxury) to see the anime version of AnC. I don't expect all of you to leave honey sweet reviews asking me to continue so don't think of me as some fragile, newbie author who'll break down into tears of despair if she sees a single negative comment in a review (I've had enough experience with fic writing and am, by no means, a newbie, by the way). I fell in love with AnC while reading the first volume in the manga series and have been planning on writing a fic for about a month now. Please excuse/ignore any OOCness that might occur in the following scene; I've only a basic idea of what Tooya's personality/speech pattern is like and probably will make a few errors in that particular department. It shouldn't be all that hard for you die-hard AnC fans to figure out what the basic plot/idea is to this fic. Please leave a review telling me whether or not I should continue this fic or stop while I'm still ahead. Oh, and please feel free to correct any minor character details I may have screwed up.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: This is my... Sister?  
  
  
  
The back exit of Kawagoe High School opened and out stepped the school's new doctor, "Motosuwa Mikami." What the school, and nearly all of its students, didn't know was that there was no such person named Motosuwa Mikami; that "Dr. Motosuwa Mikami" was actually an alias that had been created for much more than just medical assistance at a local high school. No, the existence of "Motosuwa Mikami" was much more significant than that, but Tooya wasn't about to tell that to anyone anytime soon. It had merely been a 'coincidence' that Aya and Yuuhi had been in the clinic that morning.  
  
Tooya let out a sigh and ran a hand through his burgundy-colored bangs. The white medical coat he had worn that morning had been replaced with his usual leather jacket. The day had gone by rather uneventfully after Aya and Yuuhi left. With the exception of checking up on Yuuki, the girl who had injured her head that morning, he hadn't tended any other patients for the rest of the day. Oh yes, there had been a handful of students who had come into the infirmary with "excruciating headaches" and "painful stomachaches" who had apparently thought that the new 'doctor' would send them home, therefore letting them amuse themselves with the thought of staying home for the rest of the day while their fellow students slaved over the pop quiz or whatever it was that had led them to fake sick in the first place.  
  
His mouth curved into a slight smirk as he recalled the crestfallen looks on the students' faces when he announced that they were in perfect health and should "suck it up" as well as the barrage of protests that they had come up with while he politely but firmly pushed them out of the infirmary and in the direction of their next class.  
  
His smirk widened a bit as he continued this train of thought. Sure, he had extensive medical knowledge implanted into his brain via computer chip for that very purpose, but even he could have figured out that those students had been faking sick. He may have lost his memories, but that didn't make him an idiot. With that thought in mind, he made his way across the parking lot toward his car.  
  
A sharp gasp of surprise and an even more shocked-sounding "Tooya?!" was what made him stop dead in his tracks and turn around. A tall, burgundy- haired girl of about seventeen stood four feet away from him. Her face was frozen in a mask of shock and surprise and her silver-flecked eyes were wide and filled with disbelief as well as another emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on.  
  
She wore what he assumed was the school uniform but instead of a pleated skirt and long-sleeved sailor top, she wore a collared black shirt and a matching pair of slacks -- the uniform he'd seen on almost all of the boys in the school. A black messenger bag hung from her left shoulder and the textbook he assumed she had been holding earlier lay forgotten on the gound.  
  
After what seemed like hours, he finally opened his mouth and asked, "Do I know you?"  
  
The girl continued to stare at him but regained some of her composure and replied, "Yeah..." then, "Nii-chan? Tooya? Is that really you?"  
  
Tooya blinked in confusion. Nii-chan? Why was this girl referring to him as her older brother? He'd never seen her before in his entire life -- or at least what he remembered as his entire life -- he hadn't the vaguest idea about what she was talking about.  
  
His confusion increased tenfold when the girl ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a crushing hug.  
  
"Kami... it's good to see you again, nii-chan. I thought I'd never see you again. You have no idea how worried I've been over the past eight months..." she whispered softly. "I thought you were... dead."  
  
Dead? Now he was confused beyond belief. He somehow managed to wipe the absurd look of confusion off of his face and find his voice, which had mysteriously disappeared for the last minute or so. After unlocking her arms from around his neck, he looked her squarely in the eye and repeated his question. "Do I know you?"  
  
The girl let out an amused laugh. She must have thought that he was playing some sort of game with her.  
  
"What are you talking about, nii-chan? It's me, Tai. Your sister. Don't you remember me?"  
  
She must have seen the genuine confusion in his eyes for she stopped smiling. An almost pained look came into her eyes as she asked, "You really don't remember me, do you?"  
  
His nod confirmed the answer to her question and every single trace of happiness in her face disappeared. Her forehead wrinkled in both disappointment and confusion as she searched his face with pained, inquiring eyes.  
  
"I don't understand. It's been eight months since you disappeared and you don't even remember me. What could have..." she trailed off suddenly and realization dawned on her face. "You somehow got amnesia, didn't you? That's why you don't remember..."  
  
Tai's eyes were downcast as she said this. The revelation seemed to have shocked her beyond words, even more so than when she had seen him and called out his name.  
  
Feeling somewhat guilty, Tooya placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered, "I'm sorry."  
  
Tai raised her eyes and placed one of her hands over his.  
  
"No," she said sadly. "I'm the one that's sorry. I assumed way too much. Kami... I'm so sorry, nii-chan."  
  
There it was again. She'd referred to him as "nii-chan."  
  
"You and I... Were we... are we... brother and sister?"  
  
The sad look in her eyes lifted somewhat and she replied, "Yeah. We're brother and sister."  
  
His eyes widened slightly.  
  
"So... you're part of my family... You can tell me about who I am... Where I'm from... All of it."  
  
Tai merely stared at him for a second then smiled slightly.  
  
"Yeah. I guess I could."  
  
With that in mind, Tooya scooped up her textbook from the ground and took a hold of her hand. He began walking briskly toward his car with his hand still clasped around hers.  
  
"Ehh... nii-chan? Where're we going?" Tai asked, a confused look on her face.  
  
"Someplace where we can talk. In private." he unlocked the doors and motioned for her to get in.  
  
The look of confusion finally disappeared after they pulled into a nearby cafe about nine blocks away from the school. When Tooya asked the waiter for a private table near the back, the young man had given her an appreciative once-over and almost immediately began saying that he "understood" and would get them "the most private spot in the house."  
  
It was only after Tai had deadpanned that her "companion" was her "brother" and made a few choice comments about how she and Tooya "weren't like that" that the waiter had spluttered his "deepest apologies" and seated them immediately at a comfortable table in the back of the cafe, and had offered them free drinks in exchange for them not ratting him out to his boss. She and Tooya, who was still a bit annoyed about the waiter's misguided assumptions, graciously accepted the waiter's offer and placed the orders for their drinks.  
  
Tooya made a mental note of her features and habits as they waited for their drinks to arrive. He noticed that she studied everyone around them with a discreet wariness that reminded him of an old-fashioned spy or secret agent. He noted that she had her left ear pierced three times and the other only twice. The small platinum and silver hoops were partially hidden by a few strands of silky, burgundy hair and sparkled brilliantly in the early afternoon sun. Her hair had been swept up into a loose bun at the base of her neck and was secured by two ebony chopsticks.  
  
She noticed his discreet but piercing gaze on her but said nothing and merely continued to twirl a straw between her long ivory-toned fingers.  
  
"Finished cross-examining me yet?" she asked, a hint of wry sarcasm in her voice.  
  
Tooya rested his gaze on her face and replied, "Wouldn't you like to know,"  
  
A wry smile made its way across her face, though her silver-flecked eyes remained passive and unreadable. She tucked an errant strand of burgundy hair behind her ear and leaned back in her seat, her eyes scanning Tooya's face for something he couldn't quite fathom.  
  
"Megami." she said casually.  
  
He quirked an eyebrow. "Pardon?"  
  
"Your -- our last name. It's Megami."  
  
"Megami." he repeated. "How... ironic."  
  
Now it was Tai's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Ironic? How so?"  
  
A brief, fleeting look passed Tooya's eyes and left before Tai could notice it was there to begin with. An almost bittersweet smile made its way across his handsome face before he answered with an enigmatic, "Oh, nothing."  
  
  
  
End Chapter 1  
  
  
  
So... what do you guys think? Should I continue? Reviews would be greatly appreciated. 


	2. Family Portrait

Finding An Answer  
  
  
  
Rating: PG - PG-13  
  
  
  
Author's Note: I have no idea what kind of classes Japanese high school students take so I've just made up the names of the classes that Tai takes. This chapter explains a lot about Tooya's family and is told mostly by Tai. Hope you guys like it.  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: Family Portrait  
  
  
  
"So... do you live with your -- our parents?"  
  
  
  
Tai blanched slightly at the word 'parents'. She recovered before Tooya could notice the change in her expression.  
  
  
  
"No... I live in a condo with one of our... family friends..."  
  
  
  
Tooya raised his eyebrows at this. "Oh? Why not?"  
  
  
  
She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought of the best way to break the news to him without causing any... unwanted reactions.  
  
  
  
"Otou-san and kaa-san... they're dead..." she struggled to ignore the slightly bewildered look that spread across his face. "Tou-san... he died two years ago from cancer. Kaa-san was so devastated when it happened. Tou- san... he left us a good amount of money to live comfortably for the next four to five decades or so... Our family... Well, we're pretty... well-off, I guess. Tou-san was an executive for the trading division of the Mikage business empire... He worked really hard to make sure we had the very best... Even though he was busy with work... he still found time to come to all of our extracurricular events."  
  
  
  
Tai smiled sadly. "I remember... this one time, when he came to one of your kendo competitions... He'd told you earlier that day that he wouldn't be able to make it... You were so disappointed, but you sucked it up and told him that it was okay... We were so surprised when he showed up for your last match. Turned out that his business meeting had been canceled at the last minute and he'd rushed over as fast as he could... He so proud when you won the match... We celebrated all night and all of us slept clear till noon the next day.  
  
  
  
"We had a private funeral. Only you, kaa-san, and I, as well as a few old family friends and most of our relatives were there. He'd been cremated the night before and we spread his ashes into the river behind our house... You and I... we were the only ones there who didn't cry, strangely enough... Not a single tear... It was kinda freaky... but kaa-san seemed to understand... The others... they just assumed that we were still in shock..." she shook her head. "No... it wasn't that... Wasn't that at all...  
  
  
  
"When you disappeared... kaa-san couldn't take it anymore. The invisible walls she'd built around her emotions broke and came crashing down. She came down with a severe case of pneumonia a few days later and had to be rushed to the hospital... She got better... but somehow... I could see past the mask she put on for everyone around us. The doctors told us that she'd made a full recovery and could be released... but... I insisted that she stay for a few more days... Something just didn't seem right... Something was off..." she smiled bitterly. "And I was right. She died in her sleep on the second night of her extended stay... The doctors didn't understand what had happened... They tried to come up with all of these reasons for why she'd died... None of them were even close. But I knew exactly why she'd died that night... Losing tou-san and your disappearance... it was too much for her mind and body to take in all at once... She just lost her will to live... Nothing mattered to her anymore... Not even me..." her voice cracked and a lone tear escaped her eyes and left a single, wet trail down her cheek.  
  
  
  
Tooya attempted to hail a waiter, but Tai silently shook her head no.  
  
  
  
She let out a shaky breath and said, "I'm fine. Really. It's just... been awhile since I've told this to anyone." she then cleared her throat and continued. "Anyway... I had kaa-san cremated a few days later... After the coroner had her body examined and had the necessary information recorded... I had the funeral take place on the 17th of that month... I didn't bother inviting any of our relatives... I just sent everyone we knew a letter that said that kaa-san had died peacefully in her sleep... They respected my wishes, surprisingly enough... So I was the only one at the funeral..."  
  
  
  
Tooya felt a pang of guilt in his chest but remained silent.  
  
  
  
"I spread her ashes in the exact same river... The one where tou- san's ashes had been spread a year earlier... I think that that's what they'd wanted all along. To be buried together... Their ashes side by side..." a bittersweet smile made its way onto her face. "After kaa-san's funeral, I moved in with Kai... one of your old friends from middle school. The house is pretty much empty now... I mean, all of our stuff is still there... but... I don't go there anymore...  
  
  
  
"Kai and Ariko, his sister, take good care of me. They understand why I act the way I do; why I say the things I say. They're good people..."  
  
  
  
Although the news of their parents' death had saddened him deeply, Tooya couldn't help but feel slightly wary of this "Kai" Tai had mentioned. Former friend or not, he was still living with his sister. Out of curiousity he asked, "This Kai... You and he aren't... involved, are you?"  
  
  
  
Tai shot him an annoyed look. Older brothers... they were all the same... No matter how emotionless they seemed.  
  
  
  
"No. Our relationship is strictly platonic. Besides, I'm too moody for him anyway. We just wouldn't click. Although... I do feel like getting in his pants from time to time." she laughed as Tooya's eyes narrowed. "Kidding. Just kidding."  
  
  
  
Her face then sobered. "It's getting late. I should be heading home now. Kai will be worried if I don't get back soon." she got up from her chair and slipped her bag over her shoulder.  
  
  
  
Tooya stood up as well. "I'll give you a ride. Just give me the address,"  
  
  
  
Tai shook her head. "No, that's okay. I live only a few blocks down the street. I can walk home."  
  
  
  
"No, really. It's not a problem. Besides, I need to get myself familiar with where you live anyway. I still have a lot of questions to ask you."  
  
  
  
It was apparent to her that he wouldn't give up, so she shrugged and followed him to the car.  
  
  
  
"It's the building on the left after you take a right turn on the street up ahead." she pointed out as they passed yet another corporate building.  
  
  
  
As she got out of the car and shut the door she paused for a moment then asked, "Do you wanna come in? I don't think Kai's back from school yet, so I guess it's okay. He doesn't really like me bringing guys home when he's around."  
  
  
  
Tooya thought about it for a second then replied, "Yeah, sure."  
  
  
  
"Konbanwa, Tai-san." a boy from behind the front desk greeted as she and Tooya made their way past the sliding glass doors.  
  
  
  
"Konbanwa, Kyaku-san." Tai greeted in return.  
  
  
  
Tooya noticed the boy narrow his eyes as he caught sight of him.  
  
  
  
"Who's that with you?" Kyaku asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.  
  
  
  
Tai glanced briefly between Kyaku and Tooya before answering, "An old friend of mine from middle school. Tooya this is Kyaku Rihoshi, the landlord's son and co-owner of this building."  
  
  
  
"Nice to meet you." Tooya said politely.  
  
  
  
"Likewise." Kyaku replied, the jealousy in his eyes still apparent.  
  
  
  
Tooya noticed Tai roll her eyes slightly in Kyaku's direction before saying, "Well, we'll be heading up now. Have a nice evening Kyaku-san."  
  
  
  
"You too, Tai-san. If there's anything you need, just give me a holler." he replied as she and Tooya made their way up the stairs.  
  
  
  
As Tai fished around her bag for her keys, Tooya remarked, "That Kyaku guy... he seems to like you a lot."  
  
  
  
Tai rolled her eyes and replied, "Yeah. I noticed, too." she inserted a key into the lock and unlocked the door. "He's had a big crush on me ever since I moved in with Kai."  
  
  
  
Tooya let out an amused chuckle. "And?"  
  
  
  
"And he's been giving me those freaky, love-struck looks ever since. Kyaku's a nice guy and all, but a little too clingy for my taste." she let her bag drop onto the overstuffed couch next to her and pressed a button on the answering machine.  
  
  
  
"You have three messages," the machine announced in its mechanical voice. "Message one: Hey, it's Kai. I'm going to be home kinda late so don't wait up for me. There's some leftover pizza from a few days ago in the freezer, if you're hungry, or you can order Chinese or something. I think we still have a menu from Xian's lying around somewhere. Ariko wants to know if you'd like to go to the movies with her and some of her friends this weekend. Call her and let her know, okay? *Beeeep* Message two: Tai, are you home? Guess not, or else you would've picked up the phone already and chewed me out for calling again. Haha. It's Reiji, in case you've forgotten. I need help with the answers to problems twenty six, thirty three, and fifty seven on the worksheet Kinau-sensei gave us today for English. You know I'm failing that class. I swear, Kinau-sensei hates me and damns me to hell everyday under her breath when I can't answer those questions she deliberately asks me in class. *sigh* Well, anyway, call me when you get in, okay? *Beeeep* Message three: Hey Tai. It's Ariko. Just in case Kai hasn't told you yet, me and some of the girls are planning on going to the movies this weekend and want you to come with us. You seemed to enjoy it the last time we went. Oh, and there's this really cute guy we want you to meet. His name's Jin Haisho and he says that he was in your advanced trigonometry class last year. I think you'll like him. Well, anyway, call me when you get in. Peace out. *Beeeep* End of final message."  
  
  
  
Tai let out an exasperated sigh. "Why is it that every time that Ariko asks me to go with her somewhere that there's always a cute guy involved?" she ran a hand through her burgundy locks and flopped down onto the couch. "I don't have time or the patience for this matchmaking stuff. Kami, is there some sort of sign hanging around my neck that says: 'I'm single and in desperate need of a boyfriend. HELP!'?"  
  
  
  
Tooya took a seat on the couch next to her and replied, "Perhaps, but I think your friends are just trying to help you loosen up."  
  
  
  
She snorted. "Loosen up? How will getting a boyfriend help me loosen up?"  
  
  
  
Tooya shrugged and picked up a framed picture from the glass-topped coffee table. He scanned it for a moment before asking, "Is that them?"  
  
  
  
Tai sat up and took a hold of the picture frame. "Tou-san and kaa- san? Yeah, that's them."  
  
  
  
A picture of a tall, burgundy-haired man and beautiful violet-haired woman kneeling next to their two burgundy-haired children, a younger Tai and Tooya, smiled up at them. Tai had inherited their mother's silver- flecked eyes while Tooya had inherited their father's green-gold ones, but both had inherited their father's burgundy hair. Their younger selves sat in what looked like plush armchairs and the backdrop had been that of a starry night sky. Had their eyes been the same color, they could have very well passed for twins. Slight smiles graced both of their young faces and their arms were intertwined around each other in a loving hug.  
  
  
  
Now, as their older selves sat together on a couch in a position very similar to the one in the picture, a single tear escaped both of their eyes and splashed silently onto the glass surface of the picture frame.  
  
  
  
End Chapter 2  
  
  
  
Sooo... what'd you guys think? Too emotional? Too sad? Too... whatever? Reviews will be greatly appreciated. 


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